Dr. John McLoughlin was born October 19, 1784, in Parish La Rivière du Loup, Canada, about one hundred and twenty miles below Quebec, on the south side of the St. Lawrence River. He was baptized November 3, 1784, at the Parish of Kamouraska, Canada, there being no Roman Catholic priest at La Rivière du Loup. Both of his parents were Roman Catholics. His father was John McLoughlin, a native of Ireland. Of him little is now known, excepting that he was a man of high character. He was accidentally drowned in the St. Lawrence River. The date I have been unable to ascertain. It was probably while his son John was quite young. For convenience I shall hereinafter speak of John McLoughlin, the younger, as Dr. John McLoughlin, or Dr. McLoughlin. His mother's maiden name was Angelique Fraser. She was a very fine woman. She was born in the Parish of Beaumont, Canada, and died in Canada, July 3, 1842, aged 83 years. Her father was Malcolm Fraser, a native of Scotland. At the time of his retirement from the army and settlement in Canada, in 1763, he was a captain in the 84th regiment of the British regular army. He was at one time a lieutenant in the 78th regiment, known as the Fraser Highlanders. He spelled his name with two "f's"--Ffraser. His daughter was also related to Gen. Fraser, one of Burgoyne's principal officers, who was killed at the battle of Saratoga, October 7, 1777. Dr. John McLoughlin's father and mother had seven children, of which five were daughters; the youngest daughter died while young. He was the second child, the eldest son, his only brother, David, being the third child. It is probable that Dr. John McLoughlin and his brother David were brought up in the home of their maternal grandfather. Their only maternal uncle was Samuel Fraser, M.D. He was a lieutenant in the Royal Highland Regiment (the famous "Black Watch" regiment). He took part in all the engagements fought by that regiment from 1795 to 1803, in the Napoleonic wars. Their maternal relatives seem to have exercised a strong influence on both young John and David McLoughlin. They both became physicians. David served in the British army, and, after the Battle of Waterloo, practiced medicine in Paris, France. Dr. John McLoughlin was educated in Canada and Scotland. He joined the Northwest Company, which was composed and controlled by very active, practical, and forceful men. In 1821 he was in charge of Fort William, the chief depot and factory of the Northwest Company, when that Company coalesced with the Hudson's Bay Company. Fort William is situated on the north shore of Lake Superior, at the mouth of the Kaministiquia River. It was at Fort William, where he was stationed for a long time, that he became acquainted with the widow of Alexander McKay. Dr. McLoughlin married her, the exact date I have been unable to ascertain. Alexander McKay was a partner of John Jacob Astor in the Pacific Fur Company. He was killed